Music & Musical Instruments

This button is from The Jazz Party in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1989. It has a green background with white printing covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back. These buttons were given to all Jazz Party goers as admission tickets and to simplify the billing for food and beverages. The button is printed:

THE JAZZ PARTY
348
MINNEAPOLIS 1989

Floyd Levin (1922-2007) was a Los Angeles textile manufacturer who turned his passion for jazz into a second career as an influential jazz journalist and historian. His numerous reviews, profiles, and articles were published in magazines such as Down Beat, Jazz Journal International, Metronome, and American Rag. He also authored Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians. Items in this collection (2011.3086) were acquired from Levin’s attendance at Jazz Festivals, conferences, and other music events.

This music box disc was made by Regina Music Box Co. in Rahway, New Jersey, around 1897-1899. It is Regina Disc #4328 - Florodora - "I Want to be a Military Man," by Leslie Stuart. This disc is playable in a Regina Disc Music Box that can accommodate a 27” diameter disc.

This disc features the following patents:

U. S. Patent #417649, dated December 17, 1889 by Oskar Paul Lochmann for a music plate for mechanical instruments.

U. S. Patent #500374, dated June 27, 1893 by Gustav A. Brachhausen and Paul Riessner for a note-plate for music boxes.

This flute was made by C.G. Conn Ltd. in Elkhart, Indiana in 1917. It is a Boehm system flute, serial #44067, made of silver with an ebonite head joint, rollers, knuckle rest and palm crutch. This flute is marked:

MADE BY
C.G. Conn Ltd.
ELKHART - IND.
44067
C.L.

These claves were made by Latin Percussion Inc. in Garfield, New Jersey, in 1999. They are made of maple.

As indicated in an LP brochure from the period, “Clave (pronounced clah'vay) is the rhythmic pattern that forms the basis of Latin music. Clave is phrased in what is known as a 3/2 (forward cave) or 2/3 (backward cave) feel. That is, three beats then two beats or, two beats then three beats. Claves are the traditional instruments used to play clave and are comprised of two sticks that are struck together to get a sharp, cracking sound. One is called the Clave or male, while the other is the Striker or female. The Clave lays in one hand between the fingertips and the heel of the hand, with the thumb out for support. This space between the Clave and the palm of the hand creates a sound chamber. The Striker is held as a beater in the other hand and is struck.”

This badge is from the Southern California Hot Jazz Society. It is made of a yellow paper card with red printing and an off-white strip of paper with black printing encapsulated in plastic. A spring-style metal clip is attached to the back of the badge. Both the pin and badge appear to have been connected and worn as a set. The badge is printed:

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
[image of trumpet]
HOT JAZZ SOCIETY
Floyd Levin

The Southern California Hot Jazz Society was founded in 1950. The idea for this jazz society, originated in 1949 by Floyd Levin on his Jazz on Parade radio program. Considered as one of the oldest jazz clubs in the United States, SCJHS was a non-profit organization that promoted Dixieland or “Hot Jazz” music originating from New Orleans in the early 20th century. In 2016, SCHJS ceased its operations.

Floyd Levin (1922-2007) was a Los Angeles textile manufacturer who turned his passion for jazz into a second career as an influential jazz journalist and historian. His numerous reviews, profiles, and articles were published in magazines such as Down Beat, Jazz Journal International, Metronome, and American Rag. He also authored Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians. Items in this collection (2011.3086) were acquired from Levin’s attendance at Jazz Festivals, conferences, and other music events.

Jelly Roll Morton. Jelly Roll Morton, Volume 4: The Spanish Tinge (Circle Limited Edition #306).
78 rpm. Album is for a 4-disc set comprised of JM-25, JM-26, JM-27, JM-28, JM-29, JM-30, JM-31, and JM-32.

This is part of a limited edition 45 twelve-inch record set, The Saga of Mr. Jelly Lord. The set is comprised of interviews and musical performances of musician Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton (1890-1941) recorded by American ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax (1915-2002) at the Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, from May 23, 1938 to December 14, 1938. In the interviews, Morton recounts his experiences, both in New Orleans and on the road, as a popular musician of the early twentieth century.

The Saga of Mr. Jelly Lord limited edition record set was issued by Circle Sound Inc., incrementally with two albums every three months, beginning in late 1947. The recordings were pressed on red vinylite. Album design and typography for this set was by Jimmy Ernst (born Hans-Ulrich Ernst, 1920-1984), a German-born American painter.

This roller organ roll was made by an undetermined maker in the United States, about 1885. It is roll #605 - "From [Heaven I am] Coming." This roll is playable in 20-note roller organs.

This roller organ roll features U. S. Patent #333390, dated July 14, 1885, by Henry B. Morris for a barrel for mechanical musical instruments.